victoria
fitzroy
» the evelyn |
Fitzroy's name comes from Sir Charles Fitz Roy, who was a governor of New South Wales in the mid eighteen hundreds. Originally it was known as Newtown, and included Collingwood as well.
Fitzroy's earliest surviving building is the delicensed Devonshire Arms hotel in Fitzroy Street (1850). Brunswick St was always the main commercial strip, as it is today. There were lots of single working mens' houses, because it's so easy to work locally or near the city from here. There were also, coincidentally, lots of brothels.
Fitzroy has nearly always been working class. The gold rush mansions quickly became boarding houses. Not much has changed since the activities of Fitzroy in the 1880s were described as "other local industries included sly-grogging, cocaine dealing and internecine activities between pushes of under-employed larrikans".
» via volare |
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» vasette florists |
The top half of Fitzroy is remarkably better looking than the bottom half. Most of these photos are of pseudo sculptures hanging off the facades of shops on Brunswick Street. The best one used to be the giant hamburger with two chopsticks in it on the Provincial, but last year they pulled it off and auctioned it for five thousand dollars.
Our favourite places in Fitzroy are the Retro for hangover breakkies, Souvlaki King for supoib souvlakis, the Evelyn for beers, and most of all the Napier, the home of the Fitzroy Lions, for the biggest meals you have ever seen. Neil and I have to share a main, and I can't even finish a $3.50 entree.
» the provincial |
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» vegie shop |
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» souvlaki king |
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» talking bins |
The empire of Mietta began on Brunswick Street. Mietta's grandparents opened up Marios after arriving from Milan in 1928. The first Mietta's was opened on what she called the "rather unfashionable" end of Brunswick Street in 1974 (where Virgona's is now). It was opposite a shoe factory, a row of terraces and next door to a fish and chip shop. Marios is still one of the busiest restaurants on Brunswick Street, and while Mietta's no longer exists in Fitzroy, how important Mietta was to Melbourne became apparent by the response to her death earlier this year.
» neil at home |
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» made on earth mural |
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» fitzroy nursery |
Mary MacKillop was born in Number 9 Brunswick Street. Her house is not there anymore but Number 11 has been converted into the Mary Mackillop Pilgrimage Centre.
>>>more about fitzroy...
fitzroy links
fringe festival: www.melbournefringe.com.au
arts in the city of yarra: www.yarranet.net.au
rrr radio station: www.rrr.org.au
vegetarian restaurants: www.vnv.org.au
the dan o'connell: www.thedan.com.au
the punters club: www.aian.com.au/punters
bar open: www.aian.com.au/baropen
the laundry: www.aian.com.au/laundry
subterrain: www.aian.com.au/subterrain
the rainbow hotel: http://home.iprimus.com.au/rats/rainbowhotel.htm
midsumma festival: www.midsumma.org.au
Last updated: 13th October, 2001
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Victoria
